Operating System not found

[missyamerica]

Hi, Let me start by saying, I am not good at this stuff at all! I have searched multiple forums and tried the advice (the things I could understand) and nothing has worked... My stepdaughter was using our Gateway E-475M last night. She installed a webcam (from Bestbuy). When she was done using the new webcam she turned off the computer and set it down. She came back about 30 minutes later and turned on the computer. It goes to the gateway screen then turns black and says in white writing
PXE-E61- Media test Failure, Check Cable
PXE-MOF: Exiting Intel Boot Agent
Operating System Not Found.

I took the Harddrive out and reinserted it because I read it may have come loose. I also tried pressing F11 to access the recovery partition but it just makes a very loud beep until I let go of F11. I looked around in the BIOS menu but because I don't understand any of it I didn't change anything.

I do not have any discs at all to reinstall with but I do have access to another computer with a CD burner and CD's if there is a way to get them online.

I don't care if I lose everything on the computer, I just need to get it up and running without spending any money!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Missy

 

[Route44]

Question: Where did she go, i.e. what sites, when she used the webcam?

 

[missyamerica]

HI,
She said she used Skype and was on Facebook as well... It seems to me the harddrive might be busted but does that just happen out of nowhere?

 

[Route44]

I meant to ask what the make of the webcam was as well.

1. There is the possibility of infection.

2. There is the very good possibility that the webcam drivers are causing the issue.

3. Yes, hardware can suddenly fail for no apparent reason. How old is your system?

 

[gwailo247]

LOL, most of the solutions on the web suggest hitting the laptop, so I can see why you're hesitant.

But the consensus seems to be a physical problem with the hard drive cable. You may want to try that again and make sure the connections are all secure. After that my may try messing around with the boot options in BIOS, people seem to indicate that might fix it if the problem is not with your hard drive itself.

I did have a vaguely similar problem recently in that my Windows install would not recognize my hard drives, but I found out that there is a problem with boot sequence and external USB drives, so maybe the webcam somehow screwed up your boot sequence. Did you disconnect the webcam and any other external devices?